“You’re walking so much better,mo stóirín. Makes me happy as a cat in the cream.”
“Happy cat.”
Patrick looked over at Eliza. “Two words.” He was both amazed and delighted. “I don’t think I’ve heard that from her before.”
She joined him, smiling softly at her daughter. “Lydia’s finding her voice.”
“You and me both, sweet pea.” He kissed the little girl’s soft cheek. She giggled. So, he kissed her again, and she giggled louder. The game continued until he was laughing too hard to continue.
Eliza watched them, amusement dancing in her eyes. “I believe Lydia has won your little game.”
“That she has.” He bounced Lydia in his arms but kept his gaze on her ma. “Thank you for letting me be in her life again.”
“You’re good to her. I’m grateful for that.”
Her faith in him did his heart a world of good. He’d made some headway these past weeks showing her she didn’t need to be wary of him. He was close to undoing the damage he’d done; he felt certain of it.
Eliza wiped a smudge off Lydia’s chin. “Your ma said that the men in the family will be making a trek to the train depot in the next couple of days.” She looked to him once more. “Are you going with them?”
He nodded. “Da said I would be. He tossed that out like nothing else made sense.”
She smiled at him. “They like having you around.”
He held Lydia closer and lowered his voice. “I always assumed I’d have to convince them to love me again.”
“And did you have to?”
Gratitude swelled inside him. “Turns out I didn’t need to. Ian told me they’d never stopped loving me, but I couldn’t believe it.”
“Itold you, too,” Eliza pointed out.
He smiled. “I really should start listening to you.”
“Yes, you should.”
Lydia wiggled, pointing at the floor. “Down.”
He set her on her feet, and she toddled away toward the other children.
Eliza motioned him over to the door, away from all the others. “How much have you told them?” She kept her voice low, barely above a whisper.
He slipped his hand around hers and walked with her out onto the porch. He liked the feel of her hand in his, the warm strength of this surprising woman. He closed the door, quietly so it wouldn’t draw attention.
“Ian knows all of it,” he said. “Da asked me a few things while we were working the fields, so I told him. But he thought it best not to lay it all bare to Maura or Aidan unless they ask.”
“Is that a weight you can bear?”
“It doesn’t feel like a weight anymore. I’m being myself with them now. I talk about the places I lived and the people I knew in the war. I play music for them when I can borrow a fiddle. We sing together. We laugh. And they like me andloveme.”
“Of course they do.” She hadn’t pulled her hand out of his. That was encouraging.
“You tossed that ‘of course’ out real easy. Am I right to hope that means you’re thinking more highly of me yourself?”
“I may be starting to.”
“Did your da say how long you all will be gone?” Eliza asked.
“A little more than a week. The grain’ll get sold. The men’ll buy some supplies they can’t get at the mercantile.”
